Wales Travel Ban For UK Covid Hotspots
Welsh Government to stop travel from parts of England, Scotland and N Ireland
Last updated 14th Oct 2020
People living in parts of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland where there's a high rate of coronavirus infection are being banned from travelling to Wales from Friday.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said the move was needed "to prevent the spread of infection within Wales and to other areas of the UK".
It follows a row between Wales and Westminster about whether people living in coronavirus hotspots in England should be subject to travel restrictions.
Mark Drakeford said he was introducing the measure after Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not respond to two letters asking him to enact the policy across the UK.
It is set to come into force at 6pm on Friday.
Mr Drakeford told Sky News earlier that his government was carrying out "detailed planning" for a potential short national lockdown.
Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said: “This announcement is long overdue and I’m pleased to see the Welsh Government finally taking this necessary course of action to protect the people of Wales.
“We now need a clear timetable for exactly when the draft legislation will be ready to publish, the proposed timescales and plans for implementation and how this is to be communicated across the UK. With half term arriving for much of England next week, timing is now critical.”
“Let this be a lesson to Welsh Government. Continued correspondence with Downing Street will not get us the answers we want. We should have learnt our lessons from the first wave: depending on Westminster does not work for Wales."
The Leader of the Opposition in the Welsh Parliament – Paul Davies Davies said: "The First Minister and his Government have acted rashly and without examining a range of other factors before a conclusion on whether to impose a travel ban or not is reached, while at the same time seemingly ignoring the fact that transmission rates in relation to travel had already peaked in August and September. “It is incumbent on the First Minister to explain just why he has chosen to act in this way, and what supporting evidence he and his Ministers have seen to justify a ban and then publish it so it can be properly scrutinised.
“If he cannot or will not, then he must review and rescind this ban immediately.”